Investing in people: Schooling in low income countries

The author, winner of the Nobel Prize in economics for his pioneering research in the economics of education and human resources, surveys research on the role of schooling and human capital in fostering productivity and economic growth. The author argues that the returns to human capital are extremely large — certainly larger than the returns to most types of physical capital. He argues in favor of increased grants by international donors for investment in primary schooling in less-developed countries, and that innovations in institutional requirements for investment in schooling — should receive high priority. — The Editor.